


Misalignment

by Novantinuum (ChromaticDreams)



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Corrupted Gems, Corrupted Steven Universe, Episode: s06e18 Everything’s Fine, Gen, Mental Health Issues, additional warnings in author's note as needed, light body horror
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:14:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26878003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChromaticDreams/pseuds/Novantinuum
Summary: His family’s not present the third time he runs away.Early corruption AU.
Comments: 19
Kudos: 90





	Misalignment

**Author's Note:**

> TW in this chapter for brief depiction of intrusive thoughts.

Steven shoves his phone into his back pocket when he finally hangs up, violently stripping it from his sight before he can let Connie’s smiling image on his lock screen tempt him into bothering her with all his impossible problems yet again.

 _I’m fine,_ he thinks, even as his heart runs an Olympian marathon in a show of blatant, physical opposition of this bitter lie, _even as_ a violent rush of bitter cold envelops him like a surge of ocean foam upon the shore, sweat nearly streaming down the side of his face as he shudders from where he sits on the edge of the bed. Teeth grind together so hard he can feel the tension radiating throughout the surrounding bone. Quivering fingers grasp at the roots of his hair above his temples. An almost burning pressure— the pure antithesis of these dreadful chills he can’t seem to shake away— builds underneath the skin there, blooming within his head until it threatens to tear his skull to shreds from the inside out. A guttural cry leaks from between his clenched jaw.

_I’m fine._

Wet, glossy orange shards, ~~awash in the sickly pink glow of their shatterer.~~

White Diamond’s gem, ~~bludgeoned into a fine dust upon the palace floor in front of him.~~

Connie, Dad, the Gems, everyone he ever loved... ~~injured, cracked, caught in the deadly crossfire of power he can’t control, contain, get RID of _, you’re gonna scare them away you’re gonna hurt them you’re gonna_ ** _kill_** _them you’re a MONSTER you’re gonna_~~ _—_

Steven buckles, falling off the bed and crashing to his hands and knees as he nearly chokes over his own greedy breaths, fingers wrapping around the roots of his hair ever tighter. He yanks hard, tiny pinpricks of pain exploding across his scalp. His form begins to destabilize and warp again, just like it did back on Homeworld, in front of the Gems, at the hospital. But deep inside, he can’t help but notice it’s different. He _swears_ it’s different. It feels as if some intangible part of him is cracked, thrown tragically out of alignment with no hope of repair. Wide-eyed tears stream down his cheeks as he desperately gasps for air, with equal parts confusion, terror, and disgust weaving a sticky web across his soul.

_I- I’m fine!_

But he’s unable to smother his howl as that bubble of nauseating _wrongness_ swelling up inside him finally pops, an ungodly sum of pressure exploding outwards from the arc of his spine in a mess of scales and spikes.

_I’m FINE!!_

His screams mutate into a guttural roar as the transformation wrests control from him, his higher senses growing progressively clouded and faint with each passing second. He’s not consciously aware enough to notice when the bones of his legs rapidly dislocate, morph, and shift into a completely new alignment. He doesn’t consciously notice when his compromised form swells so large that it smashes through the walls of his bedroom. He doesn’t consciously notice the moment he bolts away.

_I’m—_

* * *

A town apart, forsaken to the bookshelf across the room as Connie attempts to set aside her budding anxiety to make progress on her homework, her phone’s screen lights up with a new text:

H̷̗͕̥͚͚͆͋͛̈̐̒̔̉͞͞ȇ̷̟̥͔̙̻̦̠͍͔̅̌́̏̆̂͟͠͞l̨͖̠̼̘̺̙̫̆̇͐͂͂̊͆͞p̴̡̨̞̯̮̟͎̭̫͆͗͌̔̓͒͑̎͡ m̛̰̒̅̔͌̈́͜e͚

**Author's Note:**

> I have zero planned update schedule/solid plot for this, but may write some more whenever I have the time and inspiration. This is pretty much just intended as a "no-fuss" fic where I don't have to stress so much about the quality.
> 
> Crystal Gems, Connie, and Greg to show up in future chapters that may or may not eventually exist. I'll adjust tags as needed as I go.
> 
> EDIT (10/30/2020): Gotta admit... this really isn’t likely to be continued. Still leaving it incomplete just in case I’m struck by inspiration out of nowhere, but I want y’all to be aware... don’t expect this to update. Apologies.


End file.
